1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a functional front end of a motor vehicle referenced to the wing (side panel or fender) of the vehicle, wherein the functional front end supports and houses lighting units, as well as possibly other items such as and/or radiators, reservoirs, and electrical and electric units.
2. Description of Related Art
Motor vehicle functional front ends are known in the art as a part of a motor vehicle and are support structures intended mainly to house the radiator of the engine and various items of the vehicle such as the light units, reservoirs and electrical or electronic units.
The benefit of a functional front end is felt particularly when assembling the vehicle because all the items it supports can be fixed to it away from the vehicle assembly line, the assembly then being brought up to the vehicle as a single operation.
A functional front end is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle with a slight offset with respect to the pieces of bodywork.
This offset is of no problem for the technical items but prevents parts which have to coincide very precisely with pieces of bodywork of the vehicle from being fixed to the functional front end.
Nonetheless, to obtain the stylistic effect of modern vehicles which comprise lighting units flush with the pieces of bodywork and aprons or skirts extending the bodywork continuously at the front of the vehicle, it would be desirable to be able to have use of a functional front end which could be positioned very precisely with respect to the body of the vehicle.
The present invention sets out to provide a motor vehicle functional front end which meets this need.
The subject of the present invention is a motor vehicle functional front end particularly compromising an upper crossmember, characterized in that it comprises, near to one of the ends of the crossmember, a point of reference of the functional front end allowing it to be positioned on the vehicle, longitudinally and laterally, with respect to a reference point of a wing provided on a front wing of the vehicle.